Telford-based automotive specialist, Magna Cosma Casting UK, who have seen domestic and global sales rise significantly, has been named as the ‘Best of British Casting Company’ at our recent UK Cast Metals Industry Awards, with each of the category winners receiving a bronze casting, which had been cast and polished in the UK by Essex-based FSE Foundry.

The company has defied uncertainty in the sector to post one of the best years in its history, impressing our judges with the way it has developed a high-pressure die casting digital twin whilst also leveraging design methodology and traditional manufacturing methods.

This approach has seen it boost the workforce by 40% and has been critical in helping it support the production of large structural body and chassis castings that reduce costs and increase value for UK and international customers.

Highly Commended in the Company category was automotive component supplier CastAlum who were recently named as one of the fastest growing companies in Wales. 98% of the metal used by the company is now recycled aluminium and the company has continued to reduce its CO2 emissions through investments in energy-efficient technologies and development of a bespoke factory management system, CastNet. This web-based application provides real time data to the team, dramatically improving communications and leading to reduced response times to any production issues.

There were also major accolades for Kent’s Maybrey Precision Castings and the Black Country’s Newby Foundries (joint Component of the Year winners), with Goodwin Steel Castings claiming the Innovation title.

The Stoke-on-Trent-based company who manufacture critical duty steel castings for the petrochemical, power generation, nuclear and defence sectors, has implemented a remarkable carbon neutrality plan that has resulted in several firsts for the foundry industry.

A host of shopfloor innovations has seen it reduce its CO2 from 17 to 7 tonnes per tonne of product which has reduced its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) liability by nearly 60%.

Having obtained the ISO50001 accredited energy management system, Goodwin Steel Castings has also installed on-site solar generation which, with an output of 3.5MW, has generated 8.4% of its total electricity usage over the last twelve months. It is now aiming for carbon neutrality by 2035.

The Highly Commended Certificate for Innovation went to Eurac Poole, a member of the MAT Foundry Group, who identified greensand reclamation as a key priority as part of their ambition to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable. They then conducted successful trials using Omega Sinto Foundry Machinery’s patented USR greensand back-to-core shop reclamation system. The system now allows Eurac to take their waste greensand and remove the residual clay and volatiles, conditioning the sand and making it suitable for reuse within the core shop. Eurac can replace up to 70% of the sand used in their cores, reducing their need for new sand by approximately 1000 tons per year, and the associated sand dumping costs. This has led to bottom -line savings and improved global competitiveness, as well as operational efficiencies through streamlined sand handling, and a reduced environmental impact.

“The UK cast metals sector continues to push boundaries, to innovate and to embrace technologies like 3D printing, simulation and digital twins…this is clearly evident with the depth of quality we saw across our 20 finalists and our eventual four winners,” explained Dr Pam Murrell FICME, Chief Executive of the Cast Metals Federation.

“We can be proud of what we make, and the way that we make our castings, largely using recycled metal. There is no doubt in my mind that our industry can be part of the solution for the Government’s Industrial Strategy, to help grow UK manufacturing, our supply chains and the wider economy.”

The UK Cast Metals Industry Awards, which attracted 180 guests at the Drayton Manor Resort in Tamworth, focused on the great castings being manufactured in metal by UK foundries, and their huge achievements in innovation, growth, and component performance.

Co-presented by Pam and comedian Ian Stone, the evening clearly showcased the successes of the sector, the major strides it is making in supporting a more sustainable manufacturing world and its increasingly global reach.

This was typified by one of the joint component winners, Maybrey Precision Castings, who produced a series of 52 unique castings in silicon bronze that were used to create a series of statuesque heads that are now on display in the Memorial Sculpture Park in Alabama, USA.

The team at the foundry, led by Andrew Hills, carried out significant design work to divide the concept into castable sections, taking into account the dimpled fishing required and the numerous undercuts around the eyes, ears and noses – as specified by Digital Sculptor, Rayven Shaleigha D’Clark, in her pioneering commission by the Equal Justice Initiative ‘Black Renaissance’ project.

With both investment and sand casting unviable, printed sand moulds were employed with the team creating a double pour running system to ensure minimum turbulence and quiescent filling.

Highlighting the diversity of the casting sector was the other joint component winner Newby Foundries who created a motor housing in aluminium for the next generation of electric vehicle, developing a product that improves the cooling performance whilst reducing the number of parts from two to one. With a complex helical water core design, a new geometry was developed to improve the cooling performance whilst reducing the number of parts from two to one. The core was then 3D printed with careful control of the thermal cycle required to improve the core strength. The Judges also felt that the 3D printing and sand casting techniques used could inform a new way of doings for the industry.

For their ambition in taking on Metal Additive Manufacturing with some clear commercial possibilities based on such complex forms, a Highly Commended certificate was presented to Sylatech Ltd. The team at Sylatech undertook to explore whether its lost wax, plaster-based block investment casting process could match metal printing for design complexity, surface finish, alloy choice and mechanical properties, using a braided heat exchanger part that had been designed for metal printing as the test case. The success of the project has led to new work and the results are helping to re-establish casting as the sustainable process of choice for the design and volume production of complex parts, requiring excellent surface finish, challenging the self-perpetuating messaging around metal additive manufacturing.

Pam concluded: “Celebrating the ‘Best of British Casting’ is always a timely reminder of the impact our sector has on the rest of the world. We’re often at the heart of some of the globe’s most critical products and our desire to embrace the circular economy will ensure we remain a critical partner going forward. All of the entries were of a very high quality and in previous years many would have won, which just goes to show how the industry is continuing to innovate. We can be proud of what we make, and the way that we make our

castings, largely using recycled metal. Indeed the industry can be part of the solution to growth for the UK manufacturing, UK supply chains and the UK Economy.

“A massive thank you to our main sponsor LG Energy and all our other sponsors. Without your backing this event wouldn’t be possible.”